


What A Crazy Life We Have

by princessoftheworlds



Series: It's not a crime to love what you cannot explain [2]
Category: The Originals (TV), The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Human, F/M, Fluff and Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-11
Updated: 2016-04-11
Packaged: 2018-06-01 18:08:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,439
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6530584
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/princessoftheworlds/pseuds/princessoftheworlds
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Klaus Mikaelson kissed Caroline Forbes on the last day of fourth grade and then moved away. Now, ten years later, he's living in the dorm across the hall. </p><p>Day One of Spring Klaroline AU Week 2016</p>
            </blockquote>





	What A Crazy Life We Have

“Klaus, truth or dare?”

“Dare,” nine-year-old Klaus Mikaelson responded to his best friend Stefan Salvatore’s question.

It was the first day of summer, and also, coincidentally, the day of the Mikaelsons’ going-away party. The entire family was moving from Mystic Falls to London, except that the oldest sister Freya was moving to live with Esther’s sister Dahlia in upstate New York.

The party had dwindled down, all the adults migrating to the formal sitting rooms with beers or glasses of whiskey in their hands. 

Only the Mikaelson siblings and their closest friends remained, and they had formed a large group to play Truth and Dare, even Freya, Finn, and their friends joining in. 

Stefan hummed thoughtfully, attempting to conjure the perfect dare for his beloved best friend, before Damon jumped in. 

“I dare you to kiss,” his cerulean eyes glinted deviously as he searched the circle of children for his unwilling female victim, “Caroline Forbes.”

“What? No!” came the responding feminine cry of protest from Caroline herself. 

Klaus was taken aback, though he knew that he shouldn’t be. It was Damon who was very well informed about the strong rivalry that ran between Stefan’s two best friends. Caroline and Klaus were competing with each other, in sports, in grades, in talent. 

“I dare you to kiss Caroline Forbes,” Damon repeated, lips forming into a nasty smirk that had Klaus wanting to punch the older Salvatore in the face. “Or are you too chicken?”

“I am not!” Klaus retorted loudly, though he glanced around discretely for Freya, Finn, or even Elijah to stop their childish game. Alas, when they were desperately needed, Klaus’ older siblings were never around. 

Observing the Mikaelson’s hesitance, Damon crowed, “He really is too chicken to do it. Klaus Mikaelson is scared of kissing a girl!” His smirk only grew smugger. 

“You don’t have to do it, Nik!” Stefan intervened. 

“Nah,” Klaus responded with false bravado. “I’ll do it.” He propped himself on his knees and rose to his feet, wobbling over to where Caroline sat in the circle, between the younger set of Gilbert twins. He lifted a hand to her, watching as she took it and stood up to face him. “I’m sorry,” he whispered to her, inaudible to the other children.

Her only response was: “Look at Damon. He doesn’t think you can do it. Damon’s a jerk; prove him wrong.”

Damon indeed was jeering at Klaus and Caroline where they stood outside the circle. As they turned to glance at him, the Salvatore waved mockingly. The rest of the children sat with stilled breath.

Klaus leaned in quickly and brushed his lips against Caroline’s. 

They were soft, and she smelt like strawberries. Klaus felt Caroline’s breathing stall as the ends of her golden curls tickled his neck.

He stepped back and returned to his spot in the circle. 

Kol, Stefan, Katerina Gilbert, and Vicki Donovan all applauded for various different reasons. Damon, however, appeared bored, though he seemed the tiniest bit surprised as if he had not believed that Klaus would actually kiss Caroline.

Caroline smiled shyly at him for a moment before her lips turned up into a mischievous smirk that rivaled Damon’s. “Damon, truth or dare?”

“Dare,” the eldest Salvatore replied automatically. 

“I dare you to,” Caroline paused for a moment, pretending to be lost in thought, though she was merely stalling in anticipation. “I dare you to find Freya Mikaelson, tell her that you love her, and try to kiss her.”

Damon’s jaw dropped while Klaus smiled in approval. It seemed that Damon was not aware that Caroline and Klaus had known about his crush on the eldest Mikaelson sister. 

It was brilliant, Klaus thought with a cruel thrill. Damon would be embarrassed so thoroughly that it would be a while before he tried any of his little pranks or tricks again, and thirteen-year-old Freya would scare the living daylights out of the Salvatore with her anger. 

“No, no way!” Damon protested loudly. “Uh ah, I am not doing that!”

“Why?” Caroline questioned, her tone cold and her eyes cruel. “Or are you too chicken?” she taunted.

Damon bit back his words, visibly restraining himself from speaking or attacking. His chin trembled with anger. “No,” he snarled, gritting his teeth.

“Uh huh?” Caroline rolled her eyes in his disbelief. 

“Caroline,” little Elena Gilbert attempted to call to her best friend. “Don’t be mean to Damon.”

Katerina placed a hand over her sister’s mouth to prevent her from gaining Caroline’s attention. “Stop.”

Bonnie, Elena and Caroline’s other best friend, removed Katerina’s hand from Elena’s mouth but still frowned at Elena. “Let her, ‘Lena,” she explained carefully to the quivering Gilbert. “Caroline is being a bit of a bully, but she’s teaching Damon an important lesson. He needs to understand that he can’t bully anyone.”

Under the scrutinizing presence of Caroline and everyone else in the circle, Damon rose shakily to his feet. He glanced at Stefan for support who solemnly turned his head away as a sign of rejection. “Fine!” Damon wobbled away, out of the room, to search for Freya.

Klaus smiled. Damon got what he deserved.

Later that evening, as Klaus wandered downstairs, he found Lily Salvatore scolding Damon under the watchful eye of Giuseppe, Damon’s father. 

Sauntering past, Klaus heard phrases like “insolent boy” and “no respect for girls.” He even caught a glimpse of tears in Damon’s widened eyes.

Klaus smiled even more smugly.

It seems that he and Caroline finally came to a truce. It was a shame that it only happened the day that Klaus had to move away.

~

Caroline sighed as the heat hit her full blast, pink blossoming on her ivory skin from the steady downpour of scorching water.

As much as she hated being unable to room with her best friends Katerina, Elena, and Bonnie during their freshmen year at Whitmore, Caroline’s dorm came with plenty of bonuses to rectify that misfortune. 

First of all, Caroline’s new roommates were awesome. Davina was an art major from New Orleans. Gia, a violinist from San Francisco, was majoring in Law and minoring in Music Theory. 

Secondly, she was in a co-ed dorm building, meaning that there were attractive guys her own age on the same floor, including Stefan Salvatore and Tyler Lockwood from Mystic Falls. There was also a rumor of some foreign students moving into the dorm across the hall.

Finally, Housing had given Caroline the only single-occupancy room in the dorm, which came with its own attached bathroom while Davina and Gia shared one. Which meant that Caroline could enjoy taking showers for as long as she liked. 

As she was currently doing.

After lathering her rather expensive shampoo into her blond locks and washing it off under the spray of the shower, she reached for her shaving foam and razor. Caroline patted some of the foam onto her hand, rubbing it thoroughly on her legs, before readying the blade on her calf.

“YOU USED TO CALL ME ON MY CELL PHONE! LATE NIGHT WHEN YOU NEED MY LOVE!” 

At the familiar yet irritating tune of Drake’s Hotline Bling, Caroline jumped, caught by surprise. The blade of her razor nicked her calf until there was a copper tang in the steamy air and Caroline could feel a steady stream of blood down her leg. 

Cursing, half in pain, half in bewilderment, Caroline cut the shower’s stream off, turning the knob with fervor, and crouched down to examine her leg.

There was a deep and long cut, similar to one made by a cat’s claw, and the blood continued oozing out of the wound with no halt. Caroline hissed as her fingers made contact with the cut. 

“I KNOW WHEN THAT HOTLING BLING, THAT CAN ONLY MEAN ONE THING!”

Once again, she was caught unaware by the sudden noise, and she slipped, her fingers sliding on her calf and blood smearing. Tumbling into the plastic side of the tub, Caroline bumped her head hard. 

She sat there, on the edge of the tub, completely naked, wet, and with blood running down her leg and covering her arm. 

Caroline had had enough.

As the music continued blaring, she tugged her towel from the rack next to her head and rose to her feet while wrapping the towel securely around her, grimacing when the white material soaked up the scarlet blood. 

She gritted her teeth, flung the bathroom door open, and marched to the dorm door. Throwing that door open, Caroline stormed across the hallway and began pounding on the door of the other dorm like a woman on a warpath, keeping a loose grip on her towel with a single hand.

When the door was opened, Caroline almost dropped her towel in surprise. 

“And who might you be, darling?” a voice with a lilting accent that Caroline could not place drawled. An incredibly attractive man stood in the doorway of the dorm. With styled dark brown hair, dark eyes, a strong jawline, and prominent eyebrows, he seemed just a bit younger than Caroline but faintly familiar. She would have been introducing herself enthusiastically by now if it were not for the fact that he was ogling her body unashamedly. 

Caroline scowled, crossing her arms over her chest while still clutching at her towel. “Hey gawker, my eyes are up here! Besides, I am only here to request you turn your music down. Some of us fellow college freshmen appreciate a little peace and quiet.” 

“Apologies, darling,” the man replied. “Just needed a little pep while moving in.”

She frowned profusely. “Keep it down.”

“What are you doing, Kol? Who are you talking to?” another accented voice drifted from behind the man. This one was definitely British.

Kol? Caroline bit her lip in confusion while trying to place the name to a face she recalled from her childhood, her face lighting up as she realized who Kol in fact was. 

“No one, Nik,” Kol called over his shoulder.

The other man finally appeared in the doorway, shoving Kol to the side. 

Sandy blond curls, stormy eyes, raspberry lips pulled into a perpetual smirk, and narrow cheekbones. Lean, lightly muscled body.

“Klaus?” Caroline gasped in shock.

This time she really did drop her towel.

~

Klaus Mikaelson frowned when the girl at their door recognized him. He had never recalled seeing her in his life.

Which was a shame. She was actually very beautiful. Damp golden hair that cascaded down her back, drying into soft natural curls at the moment. Iridescent blue-green eyes. Ivory, flawless skin. Delicate features. A toned and athletic body that Klaus attributed to (most likely) cheerleading. Legs that went on for miles.

Then the front of her towel dropped, and Klaus received an eyeful before he quickly turned away. But it was enough for the image of creamy curves to manifest in his mind. There was a stirring in his loins. 

Klaus shook his mind clear and willed his body back under control.

“As much as Kol here would like a free show, we are bit busy, love. So if you could come back at a later time,” he told the blonde who, by now, was clutching her towel tightly around her.

“I would not!” Kol protested loudly besides him, appearing affronted.

“Shush, brother.”

The girl laughed mockingly. “You really don’t remember me, do you?”

“No,” Klaus replied, perplexed. “No, I truly do not, love.” He ran an elegant hand through his hair, raking his curls back.

She sighed heavily. “I have a name, and it is not a term of endearment! I should have expected this. Why would you remember me, Klaus? Even you, Kol!” The girl threw her hands up in the air in frustration, still keeping her grip on her towel secured with her upper arms.

“I am sorry!” Klaus nearly snarled in irritation. “I clearly do not remember you. Please enlighten us!” The sarcasm dripped off his tone almost nastily. 

“You kissed me in fourth grade!” the blonde blurted out uncontrollably. “You kissed me in fourth grade and then moved away.” Her lips curved into a hesitant grin.

Kol responded faster than Klaus did. 

“Caroline? Little Caroline Forbes?” he asked eagerly.

“Moron, I’m a year older than you.” She tugged at the roots of her drying hair. “But yeah.” Caroline paused in confusion. “Aren’t you guys supposed to be in England? What are you doing here?”

“We…moved back…” Klaus replied slowly, still befuddled and attempting to reconcile the image of this stunning blonde with the angelic Caroline he remembered from his childhood. “We’re all here. For college.” He sighed, focusing on Caroline’s face. “You should join us for lunch later today. Rebekah will be there. At the dining hall.”

“Yeah!” Caroline chirped happily. “I’ll see you then. Keep the music down!” She retreated to her dorm.

“I’ll see you then,” he repeated quietly behind her.

~

Freshly changed, Caroline assessed her outfit in her full-length mirror. She frowned in displeasure.

“Davina!” she called, her voice echoing in the hallway. 

A moment later, the petite brunette popped her head through Caroline’s door. She was slender with bold blue eyes and limited makeup and dressed in a blue peasant top and white cutoff shorts. “Yes, Caroline?” Davina inquired.

“I need your help,” she told the brunette who drifted further into the room. “Is this outfit fine for lunch?”

“With who?” Davina took in Caroline’s ponytail and flower-patterned green sundress.

“Old friends. A pair of brothers I knew from my childhood. They moved to European after fourth grade, and now they are our across-the-hall neighbors.” Caroline busied herself with rifling through her closet. “Oh, and their sister.”

“European, you say.” Davina turned to Caroline with a gleeful expression. “Hot?”

“Fuck yeah.” Caroline snorted. “And brothers. Actually,” she brightened up. “Why don’t you come with me? I think one of them is also majoring in art.”

“You don’t say,” Davina drawled, her Southern accent coming through. She took another look at Caroline and winced. “I mean: your outfit would be fine for a casual lunch if they were normal friends. But you say that you haven’t seen them in how many?” 

“Ten years,” Caroline interjected. 

“In ten years. Plus, they’re incredibly hot as you’ve said.” Davina joined Caroline in rifling through her closet. “Here,” she tossed several articles of clothing at Caroline. “Go put these on!”

Emerging from the bathroom, Caroline modeled her outfit for Davina who whistled loudly. “You look good. It’s elegant but still very causal.” 

Caroline examined herself in her mirror. Davina was right. She did look good.

A black A-line dress with a rose print pattern. A light denim overcoat thrown on top. 

She cocked her head, considering what to do with her hair.

“Braid your hair,” Davina replied to Caroline’s unanswered question. “Oh, and wear your beige Chelsea boots, light makeup.”

“Make sure that you change too,” Caroline called as Davina left the room. “Look nice.”

When Davina returned in a nice navy blouse, jeans, and combat boots, Caroline nearly snorted. “It’s like you took every fashion rule you applied to me and reversed it.” She smiled at Davina.

“Whatever.” Davina waved her off. “They don’t know me.”

~

“The dining hall? Really!” Davina snorted. “I thought we were going somewhere nice.”

Caroline shrugged, unbothered. “It was a short notice.” She spotted Klaus and Kol at a nearby table, accompanied by a statuesque blonde who must have been Rebekah.

“Caroline!” There was a loud squeal, and Caroline found herself wrapped up in an armful of more blonde.

“Rebekah!” Caroline responded slightly less eagerly, grimacing as she patted the other blonde’s back in what she hoped was a reassuring manner.

“That’s enough, Bekah,” Klaus said from behind Caroline, having followed Kol and Rebekah up to Caroline. 

Caroline shuddered when she realized how close he was behind her. She could feel Klaus’ breath fanning the back of her neck.

Rebekah released Caroline and beamed, her crimson-painted lips pulling back to reveal a set of perfectly-shaped teeth.

In that moment, Caroline realized how gorgeous Rebekah had truly become (it seemed that good genes did in fact run in the family). Rebekah was tall, slender, and curvy, with wavy blond hair, porcelain skin, and high cheekbones. And an accent.

Caroline swore, this entire family was too incredibly attractive. She didn’t not want to see how Freya who had already been pretty as a thirteen-year-old, Finn, and even toddler Henrik had aged.

“How are you, Bekah?” Caroline asked, her ribs aching hollowly from the strength of Rebekah’s embrace.

“I’m fine! How have you been in the decade since we last saw you?” the taller blond questioned. 

Caroline replied nonchalantly, “I’ve been fine; nothing remarkable.”

“Great!” Rebekah turned to Davina, noticing her for the first time. Rebekah’s exuberant expression died down a little, her eyes hardening slightly and her lips settling in a miniscule frown. “And who might you be?” she demanded frostily, her eyes roving over Davina dismissively. 

Not to be intimidated, Davina stepped forward, offering her hand to Rebekah in an authoritative fashion. “Davina Claire-Gerard, New Orleans,” Davina introduced herself, heavily emphasizing her accent. “I believe that that is one of my brother’s designs.” She gestured to the dress Rebekah was wearing, a black halter trapeze with small white fleur-de-lises. “From his Always and Forever collection.”

Caroline’s jaw dropped. She nudged Davina in the stomach and hissed, “You never told me that. That’s awesome!”

Rebekah’s lips pursed as she took Davina’s offered hand and shook it in a firm grip. “So your brother is Marcel Gerard. He’s a close friend of my older brother Elijah. Marcel is always mentioning you. Never expected to meet you at Whitmore of all places.” Her expression softened.

Davina shrugged in reply to Caroline’s astonishment. “We’re both adopted.” To Rebekah, she nodded in acknowledgement. “Marcel is also always mentioning you. Seems you left quite an impression on him. It’s great to finally place a face to a name.”

“This is wonderful,” Kol broke in. “You’re all nice and acquainted. What about Nik and I?” He grasped Davina’s hand and brushed his lips against the back of her hand, giving Davina a crooked yet charming smirk. “Kol Mikaelson, darling. Pleased to meet you.”

Davina’s face remained passive; she was not impressed. “My name is Davina, not darling. Still deciding if it is actually a pleasure to meet you.” Ignoring Kol, she turned to Rebekah and initiated a conversation about Marcel’s designs.

Klaus snorted, and Caroline’s attention snapped to him. She’d almost forgotten that he was there; he’d been so silent.

“Klaus Mikaelson.” He interrupted Davina and Rebekah’s conversation by holding a hand out to Davina.

She shook his hand quickly. “Davina Claire. Marcel speaks very highly of your art.”

Klaus smirked lightly. “Marcel speaks of yours time to time.” Proceeding towards the table, he sat down, making room for Rebekah and Davina to sit beside him.

Taking a seat across from Klaus and next to Kol, Caroline asked, “What are the three of you doing here of all places?”

“Mikael graduated from Whitmore. He wanted all his children to do the same. Elijah is completing his junior year at Whitmore this year. It’s my freshman year. Kol and Rebekah received early admission to Whitmore; they were in an accelerated program in their boarding school in Australia,” Klaus explained in between bite of food.

“Boarding school in Australia,” Caroline scoffed playfully. “Of course. What about Freya, Finn, and Henrik?”

“Freya is an interior designer with her own company; she still lives up in New York with her boyfriend Lucien. Finn is a psychologist in Chicago and is practically married to his girlfriend Sage. Henrik is a sophomore in high school back in London; he lives with Esther and Mikael.” 

“How’s the rest of the Mystic Falls gang?” Kol interrupted abruptly. 

Caroline laughed, a lovely sound that echoed around the dining hall before getting lost in the chatter of the other students. “If that’s your way of asking about Bonnie, then you shall be disappointed to know,” she teased. It seemed that Kol’s childhood crush on the mocha-skinned beauty had not disappeared.

“Know what?” he prompted Caroline, his eyes narrowing.

“Bonnie is here at Whitmore,” Caroline watched Kol’s face light up, “Dating her boyfriend of four years. Enzo St. John, he moved here to Mystic Falls from England when we were in eighth grade.” 

Kol appeared disinterested now. “Well, I suppose that there are plenty of other beauties here at Whitmore.” He took a meaningful glance at Davina who was still chatting animatedly with Rebekah. “What became of the Gilberts and Salvatores?”

“Stefan, Elena, and Katerina are here too, though Katerina goes by Katherine now. Something about modernizing her name for more attention from guys.” Caroline shrugged, indicating that she was unaware of the reasons for the name change. “Stefan and Elena are dating. Kat’s single. Matt’s actually going to a community college in Richmond; he plans to go to Quantico. Follow in my mom’s footsteps. Tyler lives on the same floor as us, actually. Jeremy’s finishing his senior year back in Mystic Falls, and Damon, thankfully, is far away in Italy.”

“What’s Damon doing in Italy?” Klaus asked confusedly. 

“He dropped out of Columbia, didn’t want to be a lawyer like Daddy. Now, he manages some vineyard that the Salvatores own.” Caroline forked some pasta into her mouth, swallowing quickly. She scraped her plate clean.

Klaus took a swig of water from his glass before standing up and carrying his tray to the disposal bin.

Caroline followed Klaus, disposing of her own tray in the bin. As she turned to return to her seat, Klaus locked a hand around her wrist, squeezing with a gentle pressure, and pulled her into the corner, out of sight of the table.

They collided, Caroline letting out a “Oomph!” as she found herself smooshed against Klaus, head reaching his collarbone. 

“Release me, Klaus!” Caroline demanded angrily. “Let me go.” When he did not move to comply to her demands, she raised her heel, prepared to stomp on his toe.

Klaus successfully dodged her foot, instead shifting closer. He leaned forward, almost as if to kiss Caroline. 

Caroline’s eyes zeroed in on his lips, eyeing his plump lower lips and wishing to take it between her own. Immediately, she reprimanded herself, clearing her head. “What are you doing? Klaus!” she squawked in alarm when his face was only centimeters from her own. Out of her peripheral vision, she spotted his hand moving. 

“Relax,” Klaus laughed, his pronunciation of the word stretching the syllables. 

She watched as his hand tugged her hair away from something behind her.

“Your hair was in someone’s soup.”

Indeed, the tips of Caroline’s braid was soaked in some pungent liquid. “Eww.” She wrinkled her nose in disgust. “I’m definitely washing my hair again,” she stated as she wiped the gunk off her hair. 

“What did you think I was going to do?” Klaus asked. He quirked an eyebrow challengingly, gazing questioningly at Caroline.

Coerced by his bold stare, she felt pressured to blurt out, “If you must know, I thought you were going to kiss me.”

“Kiss you?” he repeated amusedly. “Because we kissed ten years ago under the pretense of a childish game.”

“Yes,” Caroline replied, suddenly defensive. “Yes, because of that.”

“Then why not?” Klaus leaned down and claimed Caroline’s mouth. His lips were soft and supple as he nipped Caroline’s lower lip gently.

She sighed softly in surprise, hand fisting in his soft curls. Her head tilted to the side, allowing Klaus to reclaim her lips in a slightly more bruising kiss.

He pulled Caroline into him even more tightly.

They kissed for several moments passionately, Klaus releasing small moans as Caroline tugged on his hair in pleasure. 

But, it was Klaus bringing his palm to clutch Caroline’s cheek tenderly, rubbing his thumb along her cheekbone endearingly, that broke Caroline out of her spell.

Shocked, she tore her lips from Klaus and stepped out of his embrace, immediately whimpering at the loss of pleasure and heat. “You, you can’t do that!” she told Klaus hurriedly, panicked. 

“Why?” he asked, his eyes steeling as he watched her. “Why can’t I?”

Caroline was incredibly flustered now, red flush causing skin on her neck to appear blotchy. Her lips were swollen, her braid coming undone, as heat rose to her cheeks. “Because, it’s not right. I mean, we’ve haven’t seen each other in ten-ten years. And, and, I just met you again, and ugh!” she began to stutter. 

“I completely understand,” Klaus replied smoothly.

“You do?” she asked hopefully in a small voice.

“Yes.” His lips curved up into his tell-tale smirk. “I want to have you as mine when you choose to be mine, not under a misunderstanding.”

Caroline sighed. “I’m not a piece of meat.” She whacked him on the back of the head playfully. “Besides, I’m too smart to be seduced by you.” Her head jutted out as she took on a self-righteous pose. 

He smiled genuinely. “That’s why I like you.”

“Good.” Caroline nodded.

For a few moments, there was silence before Caroline found herself gazing longingly at his lips. She tore her gaze away ashamedly.

“So…” she said awkwardly. 

“Huh?” Klaus asked, startled, having been lost in thought. His face took on a decisive expression. “Come with me, love. I wish to show you something.” He latched back on her wrist and tugged her out of the corner and quickly out of the dining hall.

As they passed their table, Caroline saw Davina making a suggestive face at her, quirking her eyebrows knowingly. Caroline rolled her own eyes in response and followed Klaus out.

They walked along each other, tracing the cobblestone path across the campus until Caroline had no idea where they were heading. 

“Where are we going?” she questioned with a puzzled expression. 

“Somewhere I want to show you,” Klaus repeated vaguely. 

Minutes later, Caroline realized that they were entering a copse of trees. “What is this place?” 

No reply.

They turned a corner, and Caroline gasped in surprise.

She found herself standing in a small clearing where trees made an enclosure. A small, bubbling brook ran across the further edge of the clearing. An elegant stone bench sat in one corner where sunlight streamed brightly from under the shadowed trees.

“This is gorgeous,” she stated appreciatively. “How did you find it?”

He shrugged nonchalantly. “Came to the States to help ‘lijah move in two years ago. I was wandering the campus, just stumbled into it. I’ve painted it once or twice.”

“That’s right.” Caroline smirked. “You were always a little artist.”

“And you,” Klaus said. “Were always a little teacher’s pet.”

“Huh!” She snorted, her eyebrows raising in disbelief. “I seem to remember little Klaus Mikaelson cozying up to Ms. Goldstein, our third-grade teacher. She was always too distracted by your adorable little dimples.”

“You thought I was adorable,” he noted smugly.

She blushed, her cheeks flushing pink. “Please, no matter how adorable you may have been when we were young, it did not hide the fact that you were still a nasty, crayon-thieving bastard.” Her lips pursued into a small frown.

Klaus chuckled. “I suppose I was.” He watched as Caroline smiled knowingly, believing herself to be victorious. Then he prepared himself to knock her down a few notches. “I may have stolen a crayon or two when we drew our art projects, but I seem to remember a pipsqueak Caroline who spilled apple juice on my math assignment in first grade to ensure that you would have the highest grade in the class.”

She frowned, crossing her arms defensively but drawing Klaus’ attention to her cleavage. “That was once!” Caroline cried in frustration.

He tore his gaze away mournfully to avoid being caught. “That was three times,” he corrected her dryly.

Stamping her foot, Caroline clenched her fists. “Fine. I guess I was a horrid little bitch as a nine-year-old.” She glanced away from Klaus, acting falsely offended.

“Don’t forget bossy.” Klaus smiled innocently, his boyish grin causing Caroline’s heart to flutter controllably.

She tried to deny how his grin affected her. “Fuck you!” she hissed mock-seriously, attempting to contain herself.

It didn’t work.

A large grin pulled at her lips as she struggled to remain stoic. Finally, she gave in and beamed, breaking into loud, inelegant snorts and giggles. “It’s not funny!” she attempted to declare.

“It is!” Klaus insisted, his chuckles mingling with Caroline’s.

She agreed despite herself. “A little.”

Straightening up, they perched on the bench.

“Tell me about yourself,” he demanded playfully, clutching her hand in his larger one.

She tried not to notice how he stroked her palm gently with his thumb. “Why?”

“I wanna talk about you. Your hopes, your dreams. Everything you want in life.” Fixing her with an inquisitive stare that made her feel incredibly exposed, he continued, “Come one, get to know me. I dare you.” He cocked his head to the side, knowing that it was in Caroline’s nature to be unable to resist a challenge.

“Well, I’ve never really been anywhere,” she admitted sheepishly.

Klaus grinned suddenly. “I’ll take you wherever you want.” At Caroline’s startled expression, he chuckled. “Rome, Paris, Tokyo,” he prompted. “Anywhere.”

“Ok, I don’t know if this is some new way of flirting, but it sucks. Klaus,” she groaned. “It doesn’t work that way.”

“What?” he questioned innocently, stormy eyes bright and mischievous.

“You don’t just offer to take a girl you’ve just met around the world. It just,” she paused briefly, struggling on how to elaborate. 

“Doesn’t work that way,” he completed her sentence. 

“No, Klaus, it’s not that.” Caroline’s azure eyes flashed defiantly. “I don’t sleep with men I haven’t met in ten years. I am not that kind of person.”

“I respect your wishes, love. I will back off. Now, back to you. Tell me something about yourself that I don’t know.”

“Well,” Caroline drawled hesitantly, confused by the sudden change in topic. “I happened to be Miss Mystic Falls 2013.” She beamed, appearing quite pleased with herself.

“I know.”

Her jaw dropped. “What!” she exclaimed as she waited for Klaus to elaborate.

“It’s a grapevine thing. Some gossip between Elijah and some old friends of his from Mystic Falls.” 

“Oh. So…” Caroline trailed off. “How have you been?”

“Fine. Nothing big honestly.” Klaus shifted closer to her on the bench.

“Is everything okay,” she asked quietly. “With you and Mikael?” She recalled the years of animosity between Klaus and his step-father when they had been growing up.

He stiffened immediately. Clearly, he hadn’t expected Caroline to broach this topic. “He punched a hole throwing a painting that I had submitted to a scholarship fund. Needless to say, I lost the scholarship.” He fixated his attention on a hole in a tree above Caroline’s head.

Caroline’s eyebrows raised high, almost disappearing into her hairline. “Why?” she demanded determinedly.

“He found out that I wasn’t his biological son.”

She dropped her phone from where she had been reaching for it from her pocket. Ignoring it, she lunged forward and wrapped her arms around his stiff body. “I’m so sorry, Klaus. When?”

Slowly embracing her back, Klaus muttered into her neck gruffly, “When I was twelve.” He patted her back awkwardly. “Seem we both have daddy issues. That was another rumor from Elijah, love.”

Pulling back and punching him lightly on the arm, she remarked, “Hey! I visit Bill and his boyfriend Steven once a summer.”

“I suppose,” Klaus shrugged.

Caroline’s phone chimed loudly, and she knelt down to pick it up from the grass. “It’s been two hours already!” she exclaimed. “Seems Davina and your siblings headed back to our dorm an hour ago. She wanted to know where we were. I better go.”

“It’s getting dark,” he agreed solemnly. “We should head back.”

“Walk with me?” she inquired hopefully.

“Sorry, love, but I’ve an errand to complete for Elijah.” Standing up, he brushed an unexpected kiss against her cheek and strode off in the opposite direction.

“See you around,” she called after him. Caroline pressed her hand to her cheek and frowned dazedly before walking out of the clearing.

~

After Caroline’s subtle rejection of him, Klaus moved on. 

A couple months passed, as the couple danced around each other and their innate connection and sexual tension and also attempted to find others to date.

One November afternoon, Caroline found Klaus and Kol’s dorm door open and waltzed right in. Upon entering, she heard small moans and sighs of pleasure, all the tell-tale signs of illicit activities, that she ignored, attributing them to Kol. 

“Klaus? Klaus. Klaus!” she called as she drifted towards the living room, despite the lack of response. “Is anyone even home? Kol? Klaus! Klaus! Have you seen Rebekah? I think she borrowed my Chanel scar-OH! Oh shit!”

Caroline had stumbled upon a shirtless Klaus making out with a half-naked redhead on the couch, his hand delving-oh, she didn’t want to see this.

She turned away, covering her face yet still peeking from between her fingers because, fuck!, that redhead was gorgeous. “Klaus!” she almost-whimpered.

“Huh?” As Klaus became aware that his favorite blonde (he would never tell Rebekah) was standing and observing him ashamedly, he tore his lips away from the girl in front of him and turned his attention to Caroline, high-sensitive to the fact that his curls were a riotous mess. “Caroline?” he asked gruffly as the redhead moved to slip her shirt back on.

“Yeah!” she replied loudly, peeking to make sure that Klaus and his female companion were decent before uncovering her eyes. “I was, um, looking for Bekah. Is she here?”

Awkward, Caroline groaned. Just awkward.

“No, she is not…” Klaus answered uncertainly. “Are you fine, love? You look awfully flushed.”

“I’m fine!” she interjected loudly. Repeating softly, she attempted a smile that resembled more of a grimace, “I’m fine.” Clearing her throat, she turned to the redhead. “Um, hi. Who are you?”

“Aurora. Klaus’ girlfriend.” The redhead also had an accent, Australian if Caroline was correct.

“Oh!” Caroline was taken aback. “You have a girlfriend. Is that where you’ve been all these weeks? We haven’t seen you in a while.” She blinked uncertainly.

“Yeah!” Klaus wrapped an arm around Aurora who was staring at Caroline puzzlingly. 

Aurora smiled deviously, and Klaus groaned internally. This was going to be bad.

“You must be Caroline, his best friend from the small town he lived in ten years ago. So wonderful that you are still friends. Though it seems that nineteen years is too long to be just friends.” Aurora stroked Klaus’ curls possessively. “Isn’t it, Nik?”

Caroline stiffened at the use of the nickname that only Klaus’ siblings and Stefan used to call him. “Well, I reject him,” she replied dryly.

Aurora brightened considerably. “Isn’t that lovely news!” Her laugh was sharp and mocking. “Now, Nik, I believe that it is time for me to leave.”

“Yes, yes, it is.” Klaus offered Aurora her jacket and walked her to his door. 

“Nice meeting you, Caroline,” she called bitchily as she left.

Klaus grimaced. “I’m sorry about that, love. Aurora is a lovely girl. She is just incredibly insecure.”

She was suddenly jealous and defensive. Caroline clenched her fists. Aurora had struck a nerve. Caroline was used to being the second choice of so many guys. Tyler had taken her on one date before deciding that she was too neurotic for him. Matt had still been in love with Elena when he dated Caroline. Damon had cheated on her multiple times in their three-month relationship, because Caroline, at age sixteen, had been too naïve for him. Stefan had straight-up rejected her, because Elena was better apparently. And the one guy who had seemed to want to choose Caroline first; well, Caroline shut him down. All because she felt it was too soon. Now, even he moved on. She snarled inaudibly. “Caroline, my name is Caroline. Isn’t that right, Nik?” Caroline echoed tauntingly.

His expression hardened. “Caroline,” he said warningly. “I believe we agreed that we could date anyone.”

“We never did,” she corrected him. “I was waiting for you to ask me on a date for months. You never did.” She crossed her arms stubbornly, hissing in his face. “But you picked Aurora up first from wherever you found that bitch.”

Klaus snarled almost inhumanly. “You fucking rejected me!” He took a menacing step towards Caroline. “You said no to whatever we had!”

Not to be intimidated, Caroline stepped towards him until they were chest-to-chest. “I said no to sleeping with you! Not pursuing a relationship!” she whispered furiously. “Whatever we had was a five minute makeout session in Whitmore’s dining hall. Besides, from what Rebekah told me, it seemed that you used to be a lady-killer back in London. That you slept with Elijah’s girlfriend. The one he almost proposed to.”

His jaw clenched, and Klaus ground his teeth. “That’s brilliant, love. Use Rebekah as your grapevine.” Klaus towered over her, gazing down with turbulent eyes. “I suppose she never told you that Tatia approached me first. That she was nineteen and I was fifteen; that she never told me that she was dating Elijah since she graduated from high school two years before him. She’d meet us in between holidays at her college. She played us for two years. When we found out, she claimed to love us both. Of course, Mikael, my beloved step-father, used that as an opportunity to portray me as a villain. Rebekah and Kol never found out the truth. My first love crushed my heart.”

Caroline was hesitant now upon seeing the glassy, heartbroken expression in Klaus’ eyes. But, her heart hardened, and she felt a sudden urge of cruelty. “So, so what? You got played. So you spent the next two years sleeping around?” she snarled with a dry rasp in her voice.

“I had a crush on you when we were nine. That Damon-influenced little kiss did not help. It was a childish thing, but the moment I recognized you three months ago, all those naïve feelings came back. I thought we could have something. Then you stopped us, and I believed that you did not want anything but friendship from me. So I met Aurora.” Klaus paced back and forth relentlessly as he explained. “Besides.” He grinned maliciously. “I heard you made your own way around Mystic Falls, love. Damon, Stefan, Matt, Tyler, even Enzo, your dear Bonnie’s boyfriend. And, who was Jesse?”

“That’s none of your business!” Caroline cried loudly. “How dare you?” Her hand whipped across Klaus’ face. Her eyes glimmered with growing tears, and her lip quivered. She could not look him in the eyes.

He lifted a hand to his throbbing cheek, eying Caroline, already regretting his words. His heart clenched at her crestfallen expression. “Caroline, I’m sorry-” he attempted to apologize gently.

But it was too late.

Caroline dashed into her own dorm and slammed the door shut, whipping around to face the living room for privacy.

Instead, she found her roommate Davina straddling Kol as they kissed as if they were dying. The unexpected sight only fueled Caroline’s agony.

“Fuck you!” she screamed as she disappeared into her room and dived upon her bed, the dam breaking as she began to sob heavily. 

Davina broke off from Kol as she stared at where Caroline had been.

“What the fuck?” Kol asked, shocked.

“I don’t know either.” Davina jumped to her feet, pulling Kol up. “I think it had to do with your brother. You should go.”

~

Days passed as Caroline remained holed up in her room, allowing no one inside. She called in sick for classes, emailing her teachers that she was going through a hard emotional time and asking them to email her homework back. 

She emerged not even to eat or drink water, instead relying on the rations she had for emergency cases.

“Come out, Caroline!” Stefan hollered, knocking on her door. He glanced at Elena who gazed at Caroline’s door in concern.

“Please, Caroline,” she attempted. “Come out.”

No response.

“Care. Just tell us what happened,” Bonnie whispered, pressed up against the door.

“Caroline Forbes! I will break your fucking door down if you do not come out!” Katherine declared. 

“Gorgeous!” Enzo yelled, pounding on her door but shaking his head to Bonnie when he failed.

Even Rebekah and Kol tried.

“Caroline, I know Nik hurt you. Come out, he wants to apologize!” Rebekah called softly. “Caroline! I’ll give you my Coach purse and return your Chanel scarf. And let you use my Dior perfume.”

“Bribing her is not working!” Kol told his sister. “Darling, come out! Your lovely roommates haven’t seen your face in ages. Davina and Gia are dying without your beauty! There’s a bloke named Tyler here to see you.”

Nothing worked.

There was no response. Not even a sniffle.

All her friends gathered concernedly in the living room three days later.

“What’s going on?” Katherine demanded.

“I dunno,” Kol replied. 

Rebekah pursued her lips. “She and Nik fought or something.”

“About what?” Elena questioned.

“I have no fucking idea!” someone exclaimed.

Stefan frowned, running his hands through his gelled hair. “Caroline would never act like this. She definitely had feelings for Klaus.”

“Where is this Klaus bloke anyways?” Enzo snarled. “Gorgeous never cries like this.”

Rebekah took on a defensive pose. “He’s a stubborn wanker; he’s going to try and apologize when she opens her door.”

One day later and still no sign from Caroline had Rebekah practically shoving her older brother out the door. 

“Go apologize to her!” she ordered. “Apologize or go live with Elijah!”

Sighing, Klaus knocked softly on her door. “Caroline, love. Are you in there?” he asked gently. “I’m sorry, Caroline.” When he found no response, he repeated more loudly, “Caroline!”

There was a quiet sniffle. Then she replied with a hoarse voice. “Fuck off, Klaus.”

“That’s the problem, sweetheart,” Klaus smirked despite the mood. “I can’t do that until you open the door.”

There was a long, angry silence.

Klaus groaned. “I’m sorry, sweetheart. Bad joke. Bad joke.”

“Terrible, actually,” Caroline replied dryly, her voice muffled by the door.

“I know. Now, can you open the door so I can actually apologize?” he asked hopefully.

“I can’t.”

He sighed. “Why not, sweetheart?”

“I can’t open the damn door. It’s jammed, and Housing said that no one can come to fix it until next week.”

“What?” he repeated loudly. “So have you been ignoring us all on purpose? I’m furious!” Klaus chuckled quietly.

“I stopped crying two days ago, if that’s what you mean. But I can’t open the door so I’ve been using my mini-fridge and microwave.”

“Why haven’t you called anyone?” Klaus demanded suddenly.

“Can’t. Phone’s dead. Can’t find my charger. Plus, I couldn’t face anyone like this.”

“So what can I do now?” he inquired.

“Nothing actually.” There were sounds of Caroline shifting in bed, and her voice became clearer. “Actually, come in through the window.”

Klaus gaped at her locked door. “But you live six fucking floors up!” he protested.

“Do you want to apologize or not, Mikaelson?” came her sardonic reply.

“I’ll see you in a moment, Caroline.”

~

Twenty minutes, ten scratches all over his forearms, a torn Henley, and a broken tree branch later, Klaus hauled himself through Caroline’s window.

Turning towards him from where she was burrito-rolled in dozens of blankets, Caroline began to giggle uncontrollably.

Klaus was a sight to see. 

Scratches marring his handsome face, a small bleeding gaze on his chin, and a shredded shirt. Plus, the small branch sticking in his curly hair.

When Klaus perched on the edge of Caroline’s bed, she pulled the leaf out and tossed it away. “You’re a sight to see, Klaus.” She laughed melodiously.

“I climbed a fucking fifty-foot building to apologize to you. I am sorry, Caroline. I am incredibly sorry.”

Her expression sobered. “It’s fine. Honestly, after Bill left, I was in a dark place. Hence, I slept around a bit. I blamed myself for Dad leaving, and I became incredibly insecure.”

In an uncharacteristic action, Klaus wrapped Caroline into a hug. “I’m sorry, love.” He released her and stepped away awkwardly. “I broke up with Aurora.”

At this news, Caroline sat up quickly and rose to her feet, stalking closer to Klaus. Startled, he jumped back until he was pinned to the wall by Caroline. She crushed her lips to his and draped her arms around his neck.

“What are you doing, Caroline?” he questioned, struggling to remove his lips from Caroline’s.

“I’m not wasting anymore time.” She tilted his head back, peppering kisses up and around the juncture of his shoulder and neck. When he moaned in pleasure, she moved to sucking at his pulse point. He seemed quite pleased with her admission.

In between quavering exhales, Klaus murmured, “Let me take you on a date first.” But, as if to prove that she was the one dominating the beginning of their relationship, Caroline tugged at his curls roughly, and he moaned loudly and wantonly.

Caroline paused for a moment, and Klaus attempted to lunge forward and capture her lips again. She placed a hand in front of him to refuse him. “Not until our date,” she stated playfully.

Klaus groaned in frustration. “Fine.” He moved backwards, unknowingly moving towards the window.

“Klaus…” Caroline said warningly.

“As you wish, sweetheart.” He took one more step back.

Suddenly, he slipped, tripping backwards on Caroline’s low window ledge, and fell out the window, tumbling through the air.

“KLAUS!” Caroline screamed in fear as she watched him fall. 

~

Ten years later

“And so,” Kol continued narrating. “Our lovely couple found themselves spending their first date in the hospital, where my idiot brother spent two weeks recovering from his broken ribs and leg. Thankfully, he grabbed onto the tree as he fell, or we would not have been here at all.”

Caroline groaned from where she had buried her head in Klaus’ chest, despite her previous insistence upon not ruining her bridal hairdo. “Make him shut up,” she complained to her new husband.

“Wrap it up, Kol!” Klaus ordered his brother, tugging his wife closer to his side. His heart swelled at calling Caroline that.

“Please, Kol! Stop!” Davina begged her fiancé from where she sat beside him.

“But what about the time Caroline was chased by bees and they fell into a lake when Nik proposed?” Kol protested. “Everyone needs to here that!”  
“Shut it you, twat!” Rebekah whacked Kol on the back on the head.

“Rebekah!” Elijah, Finn, and Freya chastised her simultaneously.

“I’m done!” Kol announced.

“Good,” everyone groaned, especially Katherine loudly from her seat next to her husband. 

“I would like to say something!” Klaus declared, releasing Caroline and standing up.

The wedding guests cheered, most of them drunk of champagne. A painfully sober Mikael glared at Klaus, despite Esther’s tight grip on his wrist.

“First of all,” Klaus said. “Thank you for coming. All our friends, some new, some old. Some unwanted.” He glared at Damon.

“You’re welcome, buddy!” Damon shouted back, his arm around his girlfriend Rayna. 

“Shut up, Damon!” both Liz and Alaric hissed at him from the neighboring table.

“Once again, despite the rude interruptions, thank you for coming. This day means the world for me. Caroline and I ran into so many bumps from the beginning. Almost two decades ago, Damon Salvatore dared me to kiss my future bride as a nine-year-old. I guess we have to thank him for that. What Kol said was correct, if I hadn’t fallen out a window,” guests chuckled, “Caroline and I probably would not have fallen in love as quickly as we did. Caroline became part of the family as she had been during our childhood. But then, the mentioned bumps. I moved back to England for a year and a half, and our relationship turned rocky. There was a point in those sixteen years where she believed me to be having an affair with my therapist, who to this date has remained my friend and Caroline’s despite the accusations.” Camille laughed from across the room. “Then Henrik, my baby brother, died.”

The mood sobered immediately.

Rebekah’s eyes glittered with tears, Esther and Mikael frowned, and Freya turned her head away.

“That was a severely-dark point in our relationship history where I abandoned Caroline for months, ignored her, took her for granted. You see,” Klaus cleared his throat. “I was driving Henrik back to the airport when he came to visit us in New Orleans. A truck collided with us. Poor Henrik died on the spot, and I spent a month in a coma. I blamed myself for his death. That’s why I began to see Cami and occasionally her husband Vincent for therapy.” 

Tears were streaming down Caroline’s face now as she remembered how low she had felt those years ago. 

“Don’t cry, love.” He brushed a tear tenderly away from her cheeks “I know this speech is horrible. That’s why this is your hobby, giving toasts at weddings. My family has been through a lot. Caroline was an only sibling, and she found a horde more in mine. She truly became part of the family when she talked Kol out of running away from his problems when he accidentally ran over Davina’s cat.” Davina was glaring at him now, though there was laughter hidden in her steely eyes. “We’ve had Freya marrying Lucien, Finn and Sage and their devil’s spawn, Elijah and the less tolerable Gilbert twin-”

“Shut up, asshole!” Katherine called. “Get to the point.”

“Right.” Klaus blinked. “The point in my incoherent ramblings is Kol and Davina are engaged, but when are you proposing to Gia, Rebekah?” When no one laughed and his sister and her girlfriend stared daggers at him, he continued. “The point is, Caroline. You are strong, beautiful, full of light. We’ll be together forever, my love. You shall always be mine; I shall always be yours. I love you.” 

To the cheering of the crowd, Klaus pressed his lips to Caroline’s and kissed her under they were both incoherent and breathless.

When she came up, gasping for breath, Caroline muttered against his lips, “You know that I’m keeping my last name, right? Caroline Mikaelson sounds awful.”

“Klaus Forbes sounds no better,” he replied.

She chuckled elatedly. “You know I love you right.”

“I know. I love you too, sweetheart.” At the insistent clearing of Caroline’s throat, he corrected himself, “Fine. I love you, Caroline. I love you.”


End file.
